Many people tend to use the same approach they used in a physical office or when doing a phone call when they contact other people online using a chat app (Teams, Slack, Skype, etc…)
I recently found this post nohello (sbmueller.github.io) (linked in a status message by one of my colleagues), which made me think about what I really don’t like about chats (or even short emails, for that matter).
People that only write “Hello”, or “We need to talk”, or many other empty sentences that don’t give you the context of the upcoming conversation. Or even worse, when you chat with somebody saying “Hello” and then when they reply, you start a call or a video call, without checking if it’s the right time for them (answering a chat is different than answering a call).
Do you want to appear more professional, improve your personal branding, and help your counterpart? Instead of just saying “Hello”, waiting for an acknowledgement, start anticipating the topic of the conversation, and if you need to talk, try to set a time boundary.
It’s not rude. It gives the other person the time to think about an answer and allows them to find the appropriate time to discuss it.
P.S. If the conversation is crucial, and needs to be done with a call, don’t send a message or an appointment saying “We need to talk”. If you cannot anticipate the topic to your interlocutor, try to call them, especially if you’re the manager. People will not get lost in bad thoughts and speculations. 😊
-Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
